Five Ways to Improve Your Etsy Shop and Sales

by Lynn Hoyt of Midnightcoiler,  Team Leader of the Etsy Treasury Team

 

It's 2011 and many are reevaluating what to do to maximize sales.  Here are 5 points to consider that may help in that quest!

1. Offer variety in your items and prices and keep a well-stocked shop. For example, if you sell prints, offer a variety of sizes, framed and unframed. Consider making cards, shirts and other items with your images. This way you can vary your offerings and price points to appeal to a wider range of buyers. It's also fine to sell a variety of goods under an umbrella theme. For instance, in my shop I sell things made from nature: gourd items, pottery, wood toothpick/needle cases, and natural fiber basketry. Variety gives people choices, and they may discover things they love along with the things they came for. Keep your shop full of goods. A page or two of items is really not enough for maximum exposure. The more items you have, the more search hits, which means more visitors in your shop and probably more sales too.  

  

 

2. Sell in sets. This can be especially effective for small inexpensive and moderately priced items. When fees and other expenses are figured, there is little or no profit in selling items for just a few dollars if you are not always receiving multiple sales. Instead, sell in sets or collections, and price for a more substantial profit. Group them attractively so buyers will see how they look together. You will save on listing fees, postage and handling. The buyer will receive an instant collection that can be kept intact to make more of a statement, or given individually as gifts.

3. Use all 5 photo spots in your shop. Stage some of your items. In other words put them in a setting that shows how they look and how they can be used. This gives the shopper a sense of scale and gives them ideas that may convince them that the item is just what they can use. If you sell jewelry, show some of the first shots on a model or mannequin.  Home decor items look great in their natural environment. Make each of your item photos show a different view, angle, setting, use.

 

4. Create imagery in your descriptions. Do your descriptions lack a spark of magic? Do you associate something special with your item and are you excited about it? Write about your inspiration! It doesn't have to be a lot, just a sentence or two. Help shoppers relate to you and your item. Share that experience of imagination with a little story and/or a hint of your passion for what you do. As Whoopie Goldberg said in Sister Act, "This is not just quacking..." 

5. Tag and title for maximum exposure! Use every one of your 14 tags for 14 chances to be found in a search on Etsy. Your title has an even wider reach, and should include what the item is and some descriptive key words. Not only will title key words be picked up in an Etsy search, but a Google search will show them as well. Currently, Google is picking up around 43 spaces (give or take a few) of our Etsy item titles, followed by your shop name. Think carefully. Make the most of those 43 spaces by using descriptive keywords that you think someone would search on to find your item. If you title your artwork and the title is not something someone would search on to find your product, use it in your description instead.  Google Ad Words is a tool you can use to find the most searched on words and phrases that describe your items.

Happy 2011, and may it be a positive and profitable year for all!

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